Like it’s delicate burnished cover, Valley of Grace has an understated richness. It’s a quiet novel in that there is little overt dialogue, and the action takes place slowly, carefully, observed through the gentle lens of its main character Fanny.
The novel is set in Paris. Like its characters, the city is seen through a soft focus that only a loving visitor could provide. It’s a Paris of renovation, of food markets full of exquisite produce, of antiquarian bookshops, and wonderful, magical chocolate shops. Fanny is interested in the history of the buildings around her, and these interests and tidbits of historical fact are conveyed to the reader.
Fanny fits her Paris beautifully. She’s graceful and slender, well dressed in dark, sophisticated clothing that hugs her frame, but underneath the attractive exterior, there is a very human longing. Fanny and Gérard are happily married, but aren’t finding it easy to conceive a child.
The novel is structured as a series of almost independent short stories. The key story and linking linchpin is the story of Fanny and Gérard. Other stories include the tale of Luc and Julian, the story of Severine, Thierry, and their two children, the story of Jean-Marie, the great philosophy professor, and his long suffering wife Sabine. All are love stories of a sort, involving a couple, children, and parents, and the relationships contained within these small family units.
The progression of the novel happens as each of these stories is stretched to allow for the progression and change that time inevitably brings, but it all happens organically. The interweaving of the stories, where the protagonist of one becomes a minor character in another, is done with great deftness. We get to know the characters through a number of different perspectives that change, depending on whose story is being focused on.
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